The aim of this paper was to provide a solution for the repurposing of the Brajda Marketplace
into a public facility – a puppet theatre. The current building of Brajda Marketplace has been
renovated a number of times. However, despite the efforts to improve its function, all of
building’s potential remained untapped. On the other hand, a need for a new City Puppet
Theatre arose with a view to perform theatre activities with competence and in proper
conditions.
The process of repurposing endeavored to emphasize the style on the facades of the building
by adding modern elements without damaging its external appearance, while the interior was
completely repurposed into a puppet theatre with all of the significant elements of the
historical architecture left untouched.
This paper seeks to provide a solution for the repurposing of the Brajda Marketplace into a
fully functional and adequately constructed puppet theatre, which deserves a more suitable
building to conduct its activities. Firstly, we depict the period in which Brajda and the
pavilion building were created, describe the main characteristics of the style period visible on
the building of the marketplace, and list some of the major works of the architect who
designed the building. Afterwards, we give a portrait of the current condition of the Brajda
Marketplace building as well as of the current building of the Rijeka City Puppet Theatre.
Before providing a detailed description of the process of repurposing of the marketplace into a
puppet theatre, we will briefly outline an example of the repurposing of a monastery into a
puppet theatre in Maribor.